Anyone seen this case yet? Seems to have a pretty nice appearance (kinda like a fridge xD) and some worthwhile noise-reduction strategies (absorption foam, no open vents on the side/top, choked front intake, inbuilt fan controller etc) in addition to some neat little enhancements like the io mount, removable hdd cages, plenty of cable grommets blah blah. Looks quite expensive though, coming in at a full 20 pounds more than the Fractal R4. Also, I'm not sure what kind of materials will be used but it's quite heavy (around the same as the R4) so i'm guessing most of it will be steel, with aluminium for the front and plastic for the accents. I'm also a bit suspicious of cases with easily removable hdd cages because it seems like they will be structurally weak and prone to vibration and noise. Oh and the fans are ridiculously overrated

Any thoughts? Seems like a decent buy, hopefully someone will pick it up for a review and give it a thorough investigation.

Reminds me of the Corsair Obsidian case(s) with the sleek sides and hatch vents. The biggest worry is of course that the HDD cages don't seem too solid, as only the bottom one uses a screw mounting. The other two seem to have latches, and side-by-side mounting is via plastic tray.

I do like the hatch top and closed ports, should reduce dust accumulation, and you've still got the option of top venting and front ports should you need them. What I especially like is the extra width. Better cooler compatibility and extra cabling room is always welcome in these circles, and an extra 10-20 mm will hardly make it that much more of a space hog. The front intakes for once don't have that silly, restrictive plastic slat door in front of them.

I hope the feet are full rubber inside, don't like fully encased feet where the plastic might touch a surface or keep the rubber too rigid. The "chin" intake looks awfully small, reminiscient of the early NZXT H2s.

To me it just looks like another 100 EUR black box in the fray with a unique feature that seems to compromise more than it improves. At least most of the basics seem to be in order.

I have the Define Mini, and the up-facing ports are certainly gathering their fair share of dust. Have to clean them regularly with a duster. At least the ModuVent plate keeps the top hole sealed, but it's not optimal, as dust gathers under the grill and on top of the plate still, as you can't reach it while cleaning.

You might be right about the HDD LED, but I've always found them to be more trouble than they are worth - especially now that everything is superbright by default. I leave all LEDs disconnected nowadays.

You might be right about the HDD LED, but I've always found them to be more trouble than they are worth - especially now that everything is superbright by default. I leave all LEDs disconnected nowadays.

For me HDD activity led is extremely useful. If my computer is slow for some reason I can easily glance on that led and know that it's because of drive activity. If it's slow and no drive activity is happening then it's something that needs to be investigated.

Of course it works, both are 2-pin LED connectors. I use my power LED connector as a HDD LED on my Fractal Design Define R3. You will miss power LED of course that way, but if HDD LED is more important then you won't miss a always on power LED.

Woo, first review with the system actually turned on and the LED in action. Too many reviews neglect the LED(s). No immediate gaping flaw reported with the HDD cages, but then again the review is rather a general overview than an in-depth analysis.

So the takeaway is: built like a tank and hence very quiet, has features and good airflow, but still a few prototype-like quibbles and outdated designs. Overall a good case, and apparently affordable too. Not bad at all.

Shame they didn't test the HDD cages, but I guess that is their method.

how can there be in flow of air, when that front door is close? As you can see, usually that door is meant to be closed

anyhoo, why is all these cases all have their power supply at the bottom?

That's why there are slits on the sides of the front to allow air intake. You don't need a direct path, only sufficient intake area. Whether or not a particular design has sufficient intake can only be found out through testing, as some designs are good (later Antec Performance One series models) and some are not (Antec Sonatas I and II, first gen NZXT H2).

The bottom-PSU trend got started by Antec I think, as bottom-intake power supplies were becoming more common. The design circumvents the hot in-case air, so the power supply stays cooler and hence quieter when its bottom intake can have fresh outside air. This also frees up the top of the case from the traditional crossbar support, making, for example, motherboard and cooler installations easier.

This looks like a potential successor to my Antec P180. But what I can't figure out from the reviews is if I will still get significant air intake from the front fans if I actually use all the 8 HDD sleds for 3.5" HDDs. (And the 3x 5.25" slots that now have some airflow-allowing mesh would probably be stuffed with 4 3.5" HDDs too .)

There's also that slot further to the rear where you can move an HDD cage to. I wonder if I could simply get an extra HDD case or two to further increase the amount of space for HDDs.So pretty much the top left photo plus the bottom right photo combined. Aside from potential cooling or GPU-fitting issues aside, that would be awesome .

Now on SPCR: http://www.silentpcreview.com/Nanoxia_Deep_Silence_1. I'll take that as an "okay/good, not great", another black box joins the ranks. Too bad it only competes with features, because most of those features I wouldn't use or need - I still like the attention to detail with the dustproofing, but with Thermalright showing the way with compact tower coolers, suddenly the width seems less important. If I still used the case LEDs, though, I would definitely consider this just to get the green one without needing to mod.

I was a little surprised the top vent did not help more, but at least knowing this, there is no need to crack open another noise hole.

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